ABOUT US

The Associated Ballet & Theatre Club Inc. is a ballet competitions society which offers ballet, modern dance and tap festivals for young dancers ranging in age from around 3 – 18 years. The Club normally offers two competitions festivals annually –Tap, Modern and (*)Restricted Ballet in May/June, and Open Ballet on Labour Weekend. Both festivals are held at The Little Theatre, which is located in Laings Road (main entrance at the south end of High Street, just before crossing the Ewen Bridge) and adjacent to the Memorial Library.

The Little Theatre is used mainly as an arts venue for concerts and plays. It has a maximum occupation of 332 seats. Its facilities include: toilets, dressing rooms, kitchen and hot water zip and an oven. It has wheelchair access. The Little Theatre has recently been upgraded and is a very suitably appointed venue for running this type of competition. For further information on The Little Theatre: Tel: 04 570 6930; Email: halls.booking@huttcity.govt.nz

The Club is run on a voluntary basis by a Committee of mothers who have an interest in dance most often through having, or having had, children who learned dance. The present Committee is composed of a President, Secretary, Treasurer and five committee members with varied responsibilities. The Committee meets monthly to conduct the general business of the Club and to organise the two festivals. The Committee endeavours to call on mothers whose children learn dance with different local dance studios to become members on its committee; this is to ensure a Committee with impartial representation.

The ABTC is an affiliated member of the Performing Arts Competitions Association of New Zealand Inc. (PACANZ) which is the representative national organisation for performing arts competitions societies in New Zealand. The affiliated societies run competitions at local level in a wide range of art forms such as ballet, tap, modern dance, instrumental (pianoforte, violin etc.), speech and drama, highland/pipe dancing. In addition to certain benefits by membership, the PACANZ organises an annual competition of nominated winners from the local societies to compete against one another nationally. For further information: www.pacanz.co.nz

In 2010 the Associated Ballet & Theatre Club Inc. will be holding its 42nd annual festival/s which means that its first festival was held in 1968. The Club first became an incorporated society in 1972.